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In March of 2015, Nationals Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer Valerie Camillo asked her team to identify the Nats fans most deserving of a “thank you” for their support of the team on social media. Barely two dozen received cryptic invitations to what became the first Nats Clubhouse Social, a private party in the Nationals Clubhouse a few days before the start of the season. The evening offered an intimate and exclusive gathering of rabid Nats fans and special guests, including Camillo herself, principal owner Mark Lerner, broadcaster FP Santangelo, the racing presidents, and more.

This year, the Nationals announced via social media that they are repeating the event, and this time asking fans to nominate themselves:

The Rough Rider jumped in front of his competitors during the fourth inning presidents race, crossed the finish line wearing a shower cap, and held up a series of signs. After accepting Czarniak’s challenge, a bucket of water was dumped on his head.

At Saturday’s NatsFest, Washington Nationals owner Mark Lerner revealed during an interview on 106.7 The Fan that a “hot looking” red coating that “looks like you’re walking on carpeting” is among the changes in store for fans at Nationals Park this season.

“We knew it would take about five years, six years before it would get really dirty and you couldn’t get it clean anymore,” Lerner told 106.7’s Holden Kushner. “We put a textured coating on it that is absolutely fantastic, looks like you’re walking on carpeting.”

“Same color?” asked Kushner.

“No, it’ll actually be red,” Lerner said. “So it’s hot looking.”

The Nats’ principal owner also promised that in addition to new food offerings and computerized menu boards, the concession lines “will be a lot quicker… A lot of money’s being spent and we’re excited about it.”

Lerner described two new party suites available for single game rentals, and shared his impressions upon first meeting the new Nationals Manager Matt Williams.

Lerner responded with unusual passion to a fan who asked whether Teddy Roosevelt’s presidents race losing streak and the team’s on-field record are inextricably tied.

“I certainly want him to become a consistent winner,” Lerner said, “I can’t address whether your theory about Teddy is right or not, but I promise you when we go to a World Series that Teddy will win one of the series races if I have to run down the competition myself.”

Of course, we’ll hold out hope that:
a) we don’t have to wait that long, and
b) if we do, well… it wont take that long!

Like this:

The Washington Nationals surprised nobody but their own fans by releasing pitcher John Patterson today. I was surely not alone in being taken by surprise. A lot of us had hopes that he could still play the role of staff ace, having been mesmerized by his flashes of brilliance in 2005 and at the very beginning of the 2006 season, before arm trouble got the best of him.

But after failing to hit 90 mph in Spring Training, and stinking it up this week in his final spring training game in front of Nats owner Mark Lerner, the team clearly had seen enough.

The remarkable thing is that he wasn’t traded or waived. Patterson’s release means that general manager Jim Bowden couldn’t get a single bite on Patterson via trade. If no major league team was willing to take on Patterson’s $850,000 contract, then you know we’ve all been drinking the Kool Aid. Good luck John (just not against the Nats).